One of the Family
by Cheryl W
Summary: Jarod and Miss Parker get an invitation from the mafia they can't refuse.
1. Default Chapter

Title: One of the Family  
  
Author: Cheryl W.  
  
Spoilers: Island of the Hunted   
  
Disclaimer: I don't own The Pretender or anything in conjunction with The Pretender nor am I making a profit from this story. No copyright infringement is intended.   
  
  
This is my first attempt at Pretender fan fiction and I'll love some feedback.  
  
  
Miss Parker's prey was in sight. There was only one problem...he was being ushered into a dark town car by three gun toting mobsters. A sigh almost escaped her. It seemed that she'd have to rescue her prey before she could present him to the Centre.   
  
"Just peachy," she grumbled, even as she ran for her car and discretely began to tail the town car.  
  
  
  
  
  
'This is not going as planned,' Jarod quirked to himself as he knelt before the thirty year old don of the Feneli family, Chase Feneli. The setting was less than encouraging...an abandoned warehouse far from noisy neighbors, handcuffs on his wrists and three guns pointing at his head.  
  
Jarod met Chase's eyes steadily "Chase, I did not kill Joey Lanaro. I never even met the man."  
  
The man to Chase's left who sported a nasty scar down his right cheek snarled, "You met him long enough to put a bullet in his skull!"  
  
"No," Jarod firmly countered. "I wasn't even in town when Lanaro was killed. Chase, I can prove it to you," Jarod calmly tried to persuade the man who had hired him two days prior.  
  
Chase spoke for the first time, his tone slow, measured and without weakness. "I'ld like to believe you had nothing to do with the hit. I'd even like to give you time to prove your innocence." There was sincerity in the young don's eyes even as there was hardness. "But I don't have the luxury of trust or time." And he gave a nod to one of the gunmen.  
  
A kick sent Jacob slamming face first into the cement floor and before he could even begin to retaliate, a foot pressed against his neck, making movement near impossible.   
  
'I never saw this coming. That's the trouble with reality, it never is quite like the SIM.' Jarod heard the cocking of a gun and he knew he had pretended for the last time. His last thoughts surprised him. They weren't focused on his family. No, they centered around his beautiful huntress. 'Miss Parker I pray you have the sense to get clear of the Centre. With me dead, they won't have any need for you.'   
  
TBC 


	2. Chapter Two

Thanks to my reviewers! And, yes, I'll try to make longer chapters!  
  
Moments prior, Miss Parker had soundlessly made her way into the warehouse and maneuvered herself into a position behind the don and his lackeys. From her vantage point behind some crates, she saw that time was running out for Jarod and he seemed unable to extract himself from the pending fate. She had to take action now or she'd be returning a corpse to the Centre.  
  
Having abandoned her high heels at the warehouse door, Parker slipped from behind the crates undetected. In a flurry of motion, she crossed the space that separated her from the don. Before anyone could react, she had her gun resting against the don's skull and her arm wrapped tightly around his throat.  
  
Immediately three guns were aimed at her head.  
  
"Looks like we have a real Mexican standoff," Parker drawled in challenge.   
  
Jarod's eyes snapped up in astonishment, uncertain if his final thoughts of Parker had him conjuring her up or if reality was turning stranger than fiction. As his eyes rested on Miss Parker, he knew she was no apparition. No figment of his imagination could look so stunningly beautiful and yet so unmercifully deadly.   
  
Finding that the foot that had pinned him to the floor was now gone, Jarod sat up to watch the scene before him. He found that his heart was thudding in his chest harder now than it had been moments ago when he thought it was beating it's last. 'Parker, what are you doing?! They'll kill you!' screamed through his head but he remained outwardly silent, allowing Parker to play the scene any way she chose.  
  
Chase seemed unrattled by his predicament. His tone was conversational, cordial, even. "I don't think I've had the pleasure of meeting you formally. I'm making the assumption that you're an acquaintance of Jarod's."  
  
"Give the man a prize," Parker condescendingly replied and Jarod winced. She wasn't doing herself any favors with her audience.  
  
But to Jarod's surprise, Chase laughed. "Alright. I guess we'll cut to business." He turned serious, "I believe Jarod killed a friend of mine on Tuesday, Joey Lanaro. I can't let that go, regardless of the cost."  
  
Jarod wondered if Parker understood the 'cost' Chase was willing to expend.   
  
Parker leaned in closer to Chase and lowly uttered in his ear, "There's one small problem with your justice." She paused for dramatic emphasis before she continued. "Jarod only got into town on Wednesday," and she tossed some papers into the middle of the floor.  
  
Chase nodded to one of his men to retrieve the papers. After a cursory glance, the scared man reported, "It's a flight manifest and pictures from airport security....Jarod arrived on a 9:30 am flight.. on Wednesday."  
  
Absorbing this information silently, Chase looked down to the still kneeling Jarod but posed his question to Parker, "What are you to Jarod? And how is it that you have the exact items to exonerate him"?  
  
Before Parker could reply, Jarod answered possessively, "She's my girl." Then Jarod pulled on a sheepish look, "I tried to keep her out of this but she's apparently gotten too good at tracking me down."  
  
"Apparently," Chase smirked as if a gun was not pressed to his temple. A moment more passed and then he signaled his men to lower their weapons. "Take the cuffs off of Jarod."  
  
Parker watched as Jarod's hands were freed and he climbed to his feet. Though Chase's men had lowered their weapons, they hadn't reholstered them. Suddenly Miss Parker wasn't sure how best to extract Jarod and herself from the warehouse.  
  
Chase spoke gently to her, "You have my word that no harm will come to you. Or Jarod."  
  
Parker's eyes flickered to Jarod's. "Chase keeps his word," Jarod reassured, surprised that Miss Parker had sought out his opinion.  
  
Seeing no other probable option for survival, Miss Parker slowly slid her arm from Chase and took a step back but made no move to put away her own gun. She watched silently as Chase casually turned to face her and assessed her from head to toe.  
  
A smile broke out on the handsome don's face. "I can honestly say my life's never been threatened by anyone so beautiful before. Kind of makes the experience not so horrible," Chase drawled with his Italian charm.  
  
"The experience is suppose to be horrible," Parker countered softly, as her eyes watched the other three mobsters as they stood watching her, guns very visible.  
  
Chase's smile grew, "In that case, you had better give up making threats." Then he turned to Jarod and extended his hand. "Please accept my apology. It's hard to know who to trust."   
  
Jarod shook Chase's hand without hesitation. And before he knew it, he was engulfed in an Italian hug.   
  
Stepping back, Chase gave Jarod a sly look, "Looks like you won't be spending the week alone after all." Chase turned his look back to Parker but asked Jarod, "Are you going to introduce me or do I have to make my own introductions?"  
  
Jarod was trying to come up with a false name for Parker but before he could speak, Parker was answering, "You can call me Miss Parker and I already know who you are." Her tone was not unfriendly but it had an edge to it.  
  
Chase paid little heed to the tone. "You may call me by my first name, if you allow me the same courtesy."  
  
Jarod cut in, "She never uses her first name," his eyes holding Miss Parker's.  
  
"A woman of beauty, intelligence, capability, and mystery," Chase murmured. "Jarod, I'm not sure you deserve her," and he looked to Jarod with a smirk.  
  
But Jarod had eyes only for Parker as he replied, "I know."  
  
Focusing on Parker, Chase played the gracious host of even this dismal setting. "Well, since you've tracked Jarod here, you're officially invited to the party."  
  
This got Parker's full attention on Chase. "Thank you for the invitation but Jarod and I have things to work out. Privately."  
  
"Oh, you'll have plenty of privacy at the villa, I promise," Chase drawled as if the matter was settled. He turned to one of his men, "Bring a car around for Jarod and Miss Parker."  
  
"I have my own car.." Parker began strongly but Chase cut her off, not harshly but with finality.  
  
"You won't need your car." For the first time, the charm dropped from Chase's gaze as he met Parker's defiant blue eyes. "Or your gun." And he reached out and grabbed the barrel of the gun.  
  
Sensing the potential for bloodshed, Jarod stepped in front of Parker. His eyes seared into hers as he lowly spoke, "They don't do Mexican standoffs around here, Parker. Instead they play a game called Last One Standing...lives."   
  
Jarod could see the anger and the frustration in her eyes and knew she was weighing her options and gauging the risks. He spoke gently, "Please, just give Chase the gun, Parker." He watched in tense silence as she came to her decision. Slowly she relinquished her hold on the gun, allowing Chase to take it into his possession. Jarod let out the breath he hadn't known he had been holding.  
  
Chase's charm returned as if it had never faltered, "I'm glad you 'tracked' down, Jarod, Miss Parker. You'll love the villa and I promise, you'll have a good time. Sadly, I have to conclude some business before I can head for the villa. Pauly will drive you there and get you settle in. Save a dance for me, Miss Parker." And then Chase turned on his heel and strode from the warehouse, leaving two lackeys behind to escort his 'guests' to the villa.  
  
  
TBC 


	3. Chapter Three

"I'm going nowhere with these Neanderthals," Parker growled as Chase disappeared out of the warehouse. Behind Parker, Jarod could see Pauly and the other "Neanderthal" approaching.  
  
"We don't seem to have much choice," Jarod countered and pulled his eyes from the company they were about to have. "Just play along for now. We'll be able to slip away at the villa," his eyes meeting hers.  
  
"We?" she arched an eyebrow. "You mean you will slip away and I'll be stuck there reenacting the Godfather saga."  
  
A smile pulled on Jarod's face, "I promise, Parker, I won't let you 'sleep with the fishes'."  
  
"Funny," Parker growled. She stepped closer to Jarod, menacingly so. "You know your new best friends still think you might have killed Joey. You've only been given a stay of execution, not a pardon."  
  
"Yes, and now I won't be the only one they will kill if my pardon doesn't come through," his meaning clear as his eyes pierced into her blue eyes. "We're in this together, thanks to your 'help'," Jarod accused, his concern for Parker turning to frustrated anger.  
  
Like a snake, Parker's hand shot out, locked onto Jarod's throat and proceeded to block his airway. With a low hiss she snarled, "Without my 'help', you'd be painting this floor with brain matter and blood."  
  
"Problems in lover's lane," Pauly quipped behind Parker's back.  
  
With disgust, Parker released her strangle hold on Jarod and swung to face Pauly. Whatever Parker was about to say was cut off as Jarod stepped in front of Pauly.  
  
"You know women, they're always mad about something you do or something you don't do," Jarod complained.  
  
Pauly smirked, "Yeah, don't I know it. Well, little lady, do you have any luggage to take?"  
  
"Little lady" Parker snarled and Jarod swung around and encompassed Parker in his arms to hold her back from charging Pauly.  
  
Jarod asked sweetly "Your luggage, is it back at the hotel or in the rental car?" even as he tightened his hold on Parker to get her attention focused on him. Parker's look would have frozen Tahiti as it lanced into Jarod. "Hey, if you want to wear this outfit for five days, that's up to you," Jarod clarified.  
  
A battle of wills ensued as Parker and Jarod glared at one another. Then Parker looked over Jarod's shoulder to Pauly, "My luggage is in the rental car in back and my shoes are at the back door," her answer more like an order to a bellhop.  
  
Pauly swung around and called to his friend, "Go get the lady's luggage and shoes, Phil, and pull her car into the warehouse. I'll get our "guests" settled in the car."  
  
Jarod released Parker from his hold but instantly grabbed her hand and faced Pauly. "We're ready to start our vacation now," he offered with a smile even as Parker's grip was almost breaking every bone in his hand.  
  
  
  
  
  
Jarod and Miss Parker made the two and a half hour ride to the villa in silence, each sequestered into their own corner of the back seat of the Town Car. Parker wished the two goons in the front seat had also taken the vow of silence. It was almost a relief to pass through the gates of the villa and know the journey was complete. Almost. Except for the armed guards patrolling the villa, making escape near impossible and the sinking feeling that she'd indeed be "sleeping with the fishes" before the week was over.   
  
When the car came to a stop and Pauly and Phil exited the vehicle, Jarod's eyes met Parker's. "Staying together's our best chance to survive this, you know that."  
  
"What I know is, that if I die here, I'm taking you with me, labrat," Parker threatened before getting out of the car.  
  
"Glad we got that settled," Jarod mumbled as he too exited the car. He was unprepared for the large audience that was there to greet their arrival. It seemed that all thirty some guests of the villa were surrounding the car.  
  
"Nah, it's not Chase," Pauly announced to the crowd, "He had some business to attend to before heading here." Some ahhs of disappointment went through the crowd and most, with only a curious glance back at the unfamiliar guests, climbed the stairs and reentered the villa.  
  
What worried Jarod were the guests that remained behind. Well, maybe not the guests themselves but certainly their motives. The seven male guests' eyes were transfixed on Parker.   
  
Immediately Jarod turned to Parker and knew he couldn't fault the men's admiration. He was struck anew with what he had always known, even as a cloistered boy, Parker was drop dead gorgeous. However, with her current outfit of a red leather mini skirt and red sleeveless blouse she was more temptation than a mere mortal could be asked to resist. And the gathering crowd was more vultures than mortals to begin with.  
  
Striding quickly around the car to Parker, Jarod wrapped his arm possessively around her waist. "Well, we're here, honey," he drawled as he met her disgruntle look. "Let's get settled in," and he propelled them both up the villa stairs and into the villa's entrance hallway.  
  
A wizened woman greeted them with a warm smile, "You must be Jarod and this must be Miss Parker. Chase told me to expect you."  
  
"Yeah, we just couldn't pass up the invitation he gave us," Parker snidely replied as she took in her lavish surroundings. This villa would satisfy a king's grand tastes.  
  
Jarod shot a glare to Parker but it was lost on her as she didn't even look his way. Turning to his host, Jarod poured on the charm, "Yes, it was very gracious of Chase to invite me not to mention, Parker. I feel kinda like an intruder on your family trip."  
  
But the old woman's face was full of kindness, "No, no, this family is bound together by more things than blood. When you work with Chase, you're one of his family."  
  
This brought Parker's look back to the woman with a raised eyebrow but she could sense no deception in the woman's sentiment. She shot a look of disbelief to Jarod but he merely shrugged.  
  
"I'm sorry," the woman continued, "I've been so rude. My name's Anna and I hope we'll find much time to talk again. But now I'll have Pauly take you to your rooms. Pauly?" She called to the man who loomed directly behind Jarod and Parker. "Take them to the empty rooms on the left wing."  
  
Pauly stepped in front of Jarod and Parker and planted a kiss on Anna's check. "For you, I'ld do anything," the fondness in his voice striking into Parker's heart. She had never heard that tone of fondness from her own father.  
  
When Pauly faced his captive guests, his fondness was replaced by steel menace. "Follow me." Parker and Jarod could do little but obey him. They were, indeed, in enemy territory.   
  
  
TBC 


	4. Chapter 4

Jarod and Parker dutifully trailed behind Pauly, up two flights of marble stairs with walls adorned with family photos and through a door to the left that creaked when Pauly opened it.  
  
The hallway that lay before them was like a wing from a haunted house movie, with flickering lights overhead, dust covering the walls and deteriorating wallpaper.  
  
Parker leaned over to Jarod and lowly whispered, "This must be where they put the poor relations....or the people they're gonna whack." Her recriminations clear.  
  
Jarod gave Parker one of his boyish smiles and whispered back, "Trust me, Parker. No one's gonna get "whacked"."  
  
"This coming from the man who almost had a bullet hole in his head! Or was that part of your "pretend"?" her voice dripping with ridicule.  
  
"Well, things don't always go as planned, Miss Parker," Jarod easily admitted. "But you should understand that." He met her eyes, "After all, how long have you been trying to catch me?"  
  
Stepping into Jarod's path, Parker confidently purred, "But today I caught you, Jarod. I bet you didn't "plan" on going back to the Centre, did you."  
  
Jarod's look hardened, "I'm not going back to the Centre, not for you, not for anyone."  
  
Parker smiled without warmth, "You act like you have a choice."  
  
Leaning closer, Jarod whispered, "I do ... and so do you." He let that sink in before he pulled on his carefree attitude. "Besides, you're not exactly in control here. I think Chase will claim first dibs on me," he said, leaving 'and on you' unspoken. But, nevertheless, the terrifying thought echoed through his brain, and an overwhelming helplessness ripped through him.  
  
Suddenly Pauly bellowed from his position down the hallway, "Come on you two, I'm not your bellhop! Get you butts down here or I'll let ya sleep in the hallway."  
  
"Don't dilly-dally Miss Parker," Jarod sing songed as he stepped around her and ambled down the hallway.  
  
"Dilly Dally," Parker grumbled, "Who say's dilly dally?" even as she turned on her heel and headed for the impatience mobster.  
  
Once his "guests" were again at his heels, Pauly continued down the hallway hung a right at the T and abruptly stopped. Pointing to the door to the left he stated, "That's the lady's room," then he pointed to the door across the hallway, "and that's your room, stud."   
  
Jarod was about to readily accept the accommodations, when he saw Pauly's eyes skim down Parker like she was a Vegas showgirl he could buy at the end of the performance. "Oh, we'll only need one room," Jarod drawled, wrapping his arms seductively around Parker. To Parker he tainted sweetly, "You wouldn't want me to slip through your fingers again, now would you, sweetheart?"  
  
'Damn him,' surged through Parker's brain but she knew he had a point. Keep your friends close and your enemies closer. 'Yeah, the trouble is knowing which Jarod is from moment to moment, friend or foe,' she silently grumbled.   
  
Accepting her role, Parker played it to the hilt. Delicately, she brushed the back of her hand along Jarod's cheek and she couldn't help but get a sense of satisfaction at his startled flinch. "Don't worry, Jarod, you won't get away this time," she purred but her eyes were hard and determined.  
  
Pauly was unmoved by the scene before him, "Fine, pick either room. Dinner's in half an hour." Menacingly he invited, "Be there." And then he was leaving the two "guests" as hurriedly as he could.  
  
Once Pauly turned the corner, Parker immediately took two steps back from Jarod.  
  
Ignoring her quick retreat, Jarod walked over to the door that Pauly had indicated was Parker's room. "I'm hoping they would have given you the best room in the wing," and he walked in the room and whistled. Parker tentatively stuck her head in, expecting the worst.  
  
"It's gorgeous," she breathed at the lushly decorated room, with it's slay bed, silk covers, and cherry wood furniture.  
  
"Yes, this must be the best kept secret in the villa," Jarod guessed as he touched the curtains.  
  
"Villa?" Parker bit out, "More like a high security prison, or did you miss the armed guards at the gate? You really know how to pick your friends."   
  
Swinging around to face Parker, he was about to deny her accusation when he heard foot falls in the hallway. Then Pauly was at the doorway, Parker's suitcase in hand, "Here's you bag," and he unceremoniously dropped it to the ground before he disappeared again.  
  
Seething Parker stalked to the door and called to his retreating back, "You'll get your 'tip' later," her threat unveiled. But Pauly had no reaction as he disappeared from sight. Slamming the door, Parker turned around to see Jarod had put her suitcase on the bed and he was now rummaging through it like some hobo. "Do you really think they'd let my phone or my spare gun in there, Jarod," she tiredly said.  
  
Jarod held up a leather mini shirt that had a slit up the leg. Parker snatched it from his grasp as she passed him, "It's not your size." And she sank into the leather couch. "So what exactly are you looking for?"  
  
Having gone through the whole bag, Jarod faced Parker in frustration. "I was looking for some decent clothes for you. You know, one's that leave something to the imagination," his censure loud and clear.  
  
Snapping her eyes up to Jarod, Parker challenged, "What are you now, mother Teresa?"  
  
"No, I'm the guy who has to keep the wolves away from your door...or the guy the wolves'll devour to get to you."  
  
Parker leaned back in the couch and crossed her long unhidden legs, "I like wolves."  
  
Crossing over to stand before her, Jarod growled, "These "wolves" won't back off if you break their thumbs like your reverend friend did back in school. These men get what they want, no matter the cost."  
  
But Parker was unmoved by his words, she had contended with too many pack wolves at the Centre to back down at a little leering and growling. "Hey, you're the one that said, 'She's my girl'", she snidely mimicked. "I felt like I should have had my hair in a pony tail, and been snapping gum and wearing your letterman's jacket."  
  
Jarod couldn't help but chuckle, "That's a charming picture."  
  
"What you should have said, was that I was your sister," Parker insisted.  
  
For a moment Jarod said nothing. Instead he looked at the gorgeous women that was Parker and smirked. 'Think of her as my sister, yeah right' But aloud he replied, "I think I'll take my chances being your lover."  
  
Parker's eyebrows shot up at the word 'lover'.   
  
"Let's go down for dinner," Jarod suggested and he held the door open for her. She stood up, still watching Jarod, unable to return with a barb...yet. Then she purposely walked by him and out the door. A smile pulled on Jarod's face as he followed her.  
  
TBC 


	5. Chapter Five

Dinner was like attending a family reunion. Stories were told, jokes were shared, and memories were fondly recalled. It made little different that the group was divided into two long tables, they simply called back and forth from table to table, or leaned back in their chairs, tapped the person behind them and began talking. Jarod and Parker had never experienced anything like it and they were enthralled.   
  
But they weren't left out of the conversations, no instead they were new audiences to share old, well known tales again. And Jarod and Miss Parker found themselves laughing with the jokes, smirking at the tales and smiling at the memories shared. For the first time in their respective lives, they truly knew the way it felt to be surrounded by a loving family...even if it wasn't theirs.  
  
When the attention had shifted from them, Jarod met Parker's eyes across the table. In this there was no pretenses, they were having a great time and they both knew it. Parker smiled a rare smile to Jarod and Jarod smiled back. Before either could speak, Pauly called out to the loud group, "Quiet! Quiet! Chase just pulled through the gate!"  
  
Immediately, the rambunctious group fell silent and quickly began to exit the dinner room. A woman tapped Parker's arm and whispered, "Come with us," and, with a look at Jarod, she included him in her invitation. Obeying with a shared, confused look, Jarod and Miss Parker followed the group onto the next room.  
  
Hurriedly, Pauly came around to every guest and handed them something. Jarod was surprised to be included and look down at the marble he held in his hand. He met Parker's confused look and she simply shrugged.  
  
Through the closed door they heard Chase's voice in the hallway, "Is dinner over?"   
  
A voice replied, "Yes, but Anna set up a plate for you in the kitchen."  
  
"The kitchen?" Chase mumbled, "Great." And they could hear retreating footfalls.  
  
Pauly whispered to the group, "OK, we'll file in and give 'em the marbles." Then the group began to quietly move through the house until the first person emerged into the kitchen where Chase sat, alone, before a cold plate of food.  
  
Chase turned to see who was approaching and he began to laugh. That laughter turned boisterous as each guest handed him a marble and he called out "Uncle Rick, I know you're behind this!"  
  
A man in his sixties pulled away from the group, "Hey, thirty years ago you asked for marbles and, to my knowledge, you never got'em. I'm just trying to make one of your wishes come true!"  
  
"I was five!" Chase laughed back. "Marbles were a prized possession back then."  
  
Now Anna joined in fondly, "Yes, and your father said you could not have them because he didn't want you turning into a gambling loser."  
  
Someone called from the crowd, "Well, your old man didn't prevent that from happening." The room broke into laughter, including Chase as he sat there with thirty marbles balanced precariously in his hands.   
  
"Here, Chase, let me help 'ya," a man offered with a wicked smiled a second before he jolted Chase's hands and thirty marbles clattered across the floor.   
  
"Thanks Jack," Chase sarcastically said with a smirk.  
  
And then the group began singing "Happy Birthday" as Anna brought out a birthday cake with thirty-five lit candles.  
  
Parker slipped inconspicuously to the back of the crowd, feeling like an interloper, not to mention overwhelmingly jealous. She hadn't noticed Jarod draw up beside her and almost jumped when he spoke gently to her.  
  
"Seems too good to be true, doesn't it?" his eyes on the happy scene before him.  
  
"Too good for my life," Parker quietly replied. She looked to Jarod with sympathy, "Or yours."  
  
Jarod hung his head a moment before turning to her, "We can change our lives, you know. Our childhoods don't have to define our future."  
  
Parker softly contradicted, "I don't think the colleagues in Sydney's profession would agree. Everything in your life makes you who you are...who you can ever hope to be."  
  
"I don't believe that," Jarod emphatically denied as he turned Parker to face him. "The future is ours to mold."  
  
Parker snorted, "Is this where you're going to tell me again that I'm at a turning point, that I should take a hard look at my life, that I should model my life after my mother and become another Centre victim?"   
  
Parker's words cut into Jarod, his own words to her in the limo after they had left Isle of Carthis, twisted and misconstrued. "If you're a victim, you've signed up for the job!" he lowly shot back. "How many times are you going to allow the Centre to hurt you? To take something precious away from you? Until they kill you?!" Then with anguish he asked, "Or until you've lost all your soul?"  
  
"So glad you two could come," Chase voice interrupted them.  
  
Rattled by Jarod's words and startled by Chase's presence, Parker jumped when Chase spoke.   
  
"Whoa, I'm sorry to have scared you," Chase soothed as he placed a gentle hand on Parker's back. "You alright?"  
  
Parker pulled on a cold smile, "Fine, could use a cigarette, though."  
  
Chase smiled into her face, "I think that can be arranged. But first, you must have a piece of my grandmother's cake." And he led her to the table that held the beautifully decorated chocolate cake.  
  
Jarod leaned against the wall with frustration as he watched Parker and Chase disappear in the crowd. Every time he thought he might break through to Parker, they got interrupted. Above the din in the room he heard Parker's laugh, a laugh he had not generated since they were children. A laugh that Chase earned without undo effort. He hadn't begun this pretend thinking of Chase as an enemy but that was slowly changing.  
  
  
In the new world Jarod had uncovered when he escaped the Centre, he had come to love a lot of things...like Pez candy and the joy of family. But he had also come to hate a lot of things, like pasticcio and man's cruelty to one another. Suddenly, he had another thing to add to his hate list.... Miss Parker dancing with Chase.  
  
Among the couples that were dancing in the open courtyard, Chase and Parker looked like they had waltzed right out of a fairy tale. Jarod watched as Chase drew Parker closer and let his hand rest on her lower back like a caress. Parker didn't seem to mind, she was practically resting her head on his shoulder. Jarod flinched when Parker's laugh echoed back to the terrace where he stood.  
  
"She's a stunning woman," a woman's voice spoke behind him.  
  
Jarod turned to find Anna, the woman who had so graciously greeted them into the villa, standing with him, watching the fairy tale couple almost float across the dance area. "Yes, she is," he breathed and forced a smile unto his lips.  
  
Anna laughed, "You aren't fooling me, young man. I see the way you watch her. It pains you to see her in the arms of another man."  
  
Unable to deny the truth of her words, Jarod lightly replied, "Parker makes her own choices."  
  
"But she will never choose anyone but you. She watches you too, you know. I may just be an old women but I've known a great love in my time. I know the signs."  
  
Jarod chuckled good-naturedly, "I'm not sure what signs you're seeing but I think you've confused our ....fling, with love."  
  
But Anna had a knowing smile, "Yes, I had a fling once...it lasted fifty one happy years and was called marriage. Now why don't you go stake your claim."  
  
Jarod's face crinkled with wonder, "Stake my claim?"  
  
Anna smiled, "Yes, go show everyone that Parker's yours and you won't take kindly to claim jumpers."  
  
"Claim jumpers?"  
  
"Thieves," Anna laughed in explanation. "Now stop being coy and get out there," and he gave Jarod a jab in the back to prod him forward.  
  
TBC 


	6. Chapter Six

This is a short one but I hope to add more to it this weekend!  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
As Chase and Parker danced, Parker seductively drawled "I guess I really should apologize for threatening to kill you on your birthday," and she snuggled closer to him.  
  
But Chase smiled in answer, "Hey, it made it a memorable day."  
  
They danced for a moment in silence before Parker spoke again, lacing her tone with compassion, "I'm sorry about your friend Joey."  
  
Chase gave her an assessing look before replying, "Yeah, I miss 'em."  
  
"Did he have a family?"  
  
"No," Chase shortly replied and looked away. "He and I were the bachelors of our group. We were always teasing the married guys, rubbing it in about the running around we did, our trips to Vegas, all our gambling," Chase smiled sadly at the memories.  
  
Parker was about to pose her next question when Jarod's voice broke into her thoughts.  
  
"Can I cut in?" Jarod's manner was all politeness but when Chase met his eyes, he saw the resolve there.  
  
"Sure," Chase conceded but he had his eyes on Parker. "It's truly been a pleasure...Parker," and he kissed her hand before he walked off the courtyard.  
  
As Jarod encircled Parker in his arms and began to slow dance, Parker grumbled, "Great timing, Sherlock. I had Chase talking about Joey, you know the guy they think you killed. If we want to make it out of here in one piece, we had better find a more likely suspect than you..or me."  
  
Jarod gave Parker a bemused look.  
  
"What?" Parker demanded.  
  
"You're turning into a real Nancy Drew."  
  
"This Nancy Drew should have let them put a bullet in your Hardy Boy head," she growled lowly.  
  
"Now where would the fun be in that."  
  
"Oh you'd be surprised," Parker countered icily.   
  
Jarod laughed and slowly pulled her tight against his chest, letting his hand rest at the base of her spine. This earned him an uncharacteristically surprised expression from Parker as her eyes met his.  
  
His breath fluttered across her face like a summer breeze when he softly spoke, "It has been brought to my attention that I need to 'stake my claim.'" At Parker's confused look, Jarod raised his head, surveyed the hungry look of the "claim jumpers" that rimmed the courtyard. He settled his look again on Parker's beautiful features, "You know, stake my claim on you to ward off claim jumpers."  
  
A lady like snort escaped Parker, "Claim jumpers, Jarod? You really need to "pretend" to have some culture."  
  
Jarod's eyes held Parker's as he lowly drawled, "Oh, I have culture, Parker, but this "pretend" calls for something you and I have been avoiding. Romance." And he slowly began to bend his head toward Parker.  
  
"Jarod?!" Parker warned but her voice was a whispered gasp.  
  
Halting his descent, his lips a mere inch above Parker's, Jarod's eyes seared into hers. He breathed with amusement, "I don't think this is too high a price to pay for survival, Miss Parker." And then his lips captured hers, gently at first then hungrily.  
  
Instantly, Parker sank against Jarod's firm body and, of their own volition, her arms slowly crept up his body to wrap themselves around his neck. Any protests her mind had, her heart had discarded the second his lips met hers.  
  
Finally pulling back, gasping for breath, Jarod's eyes met Parker's equally shocked and vulnerable. Gently, Jarod stroked her cheek, not even aware that they had stopped dancing amid the dance floor. He wanted to say something, to bridge the gap that had kept them isolated for so long, to erase the fear he saw gathering in her eyes. She never gave him the chance.  
  
Stepping back from Jarod, Miss Parker assumed the ice queen façade that had sheltered her for most of her life. "I think your claim has been staked," her voice icy. She made to turn on her heel but Jarod again caught her in his arms.  
  
"Parker, wait." Jarod demanded, lowly, gripping her tightly enough to conceal any struggles she may make. But her eyes met his and he knew the stone hearted professional Centre employee had returned. Emotions could not be shared now, not with this Parker. This Parker would only concern herself with survival and objectives. "You're right, we need to find other suspects for Joey's murder."  
  
"Suspects?! We need the guilty party given to Chase on a silver platter." Parker sneered, glad that Jarod had not tried to breach the subject of her moment of weakness.  
  
Moving them both with the music, Jarod scanned the guests, "You're assuming the murderer's here."  
  
Parker's voice was bitter with knowledge, "The Centre has taught me that it's always an inside job."  
  
Jarod met her eyes, doubtfully but then nodded his head. "Alright, then let's mingle. First one to discover the killer, wins."  
  
"You mean "lives", don't you?" Parker corrected.  
  
Jarod smiled, "Not today, miss Parker, not in this. This hunt we play on the same team. Ok, you see what the ladies have to say about Joey and I'll see what the gents have to say." And he began to guide them off the dance floor.  
  
"You take the ladies, Jarod. I'll take the men," Parker countered but her suggestion met with a look of protest from Jarod. "Woman don't talk to me, Jarod."  
  
"And men do," Jarod stated unhappily. "Alright, I've got the ladies. Good luck," leaving his 'and be careful' unspoken as they parted company and blended into the crowd.  
  
  
TBC 


	7. Chapter Seven

Sorry that this installment took much longer than I promised!  
  
  
  
  
Swallowing a hardy helping of her glass of scotch, Parker kept a smile plastered on her face as she was told, for the third time, that "Everyone liked Joey". Internally she stewed, 'Well, someone didn't like him because they put a bullet in his skull.'  
  
She had tried being sweet, though it ran against her nature, now it was time to change tactics. The person who said 'you can get more flies with honey than vinegar' had apparently never worked for the Centre or partied with the mob.  
  
In the middle of Benny's story of 'how much everyone liked Joey', Parker cut in sharply, "I guess the person Joey was about to rat out decided he liked living more than he liked Joey."  
  
Benny's words stumbled to a halt, his expression clearly showing that he had never thought about why Joey had been killed. It wasn't his job to think along those lines. No, he just did as he was told. "Joey knew who was selling out to Delano?"  
  
Parker catalogued her new information even as she responded without a moment's hesitation, "Yup. Joey was going to meet Chase Tuesday evening. But, well, he got killed that afternoon."  
  
Sadness overcame Benny's rounded face, "Joey always was looking out for Chase."  
  
"Yes, he was. I guess Joey was worried something would happen to him and that's why he mailed the package to that address. As soon as it arrives there and Chase picks it up, Chase will know who the leak is." She leaned toward Benny and whispered furtively, "And then Chase'll plug the leak. Permanently." With that said, Parker stalked away to her next victim.  
  
  
Approaching the petite brunette woman who sat watching the dancing couples, Jarod greeted, "Hi, I'm Jarod."   
  
The woman rewarded him with a warm smile, "I'm Gina."   
  
Claiming a chair beside her, Jarod also watched the dancers but couldn't help but skim the crowd for Miss Parker. He found her with a cigarette in one hand, a drink in the other and surrounded by the very wolves Jarod had been trying to keep her away from.   
  
Fighting a sigh of defeat, he turned to the woman he had started this "pretend" for. "You're grandmother Lina is very worried about you," his voice soft and for her ears only.  
  
Gina's eyes flew to his in shock, "You know my grandmother?" her voice no louder than his had been.  
  
A smile sprang onto Jarod's face, "I met her while I was at the grocery story trying to pick out tomatoes. She invited me for dinner and I had the best lasagna I've ever tasted ... and heard all about you."  
  
Dropping her eyes to the ground, Gina softly replied, "She didn't approve of my marriage and now....."  
  
"Now?"  
  
With resolve, Gina met Jarod's eyes, "Now this is my life."  
  
Leaning close, Jarod insisted, "It doesn't have to be. I can help you get away, to live a different kind of life."  
  
Gina's voice turned bitter, "And what would you want in exchange, my testimony, my husband's life, my in-law's lives."  
  
"I'm not with law enforcement or another mafia family. I'm here because your grandmother wanted you to be safe, happy, free."  
  
Fixing her look on a man across the room who was engaged in a conversation with three other men, Gina spoke, "It's not that easy to walk away." Her eyes swung back to Jarod's. "You may call me a fool but I love my husband, in spite of ...well, in spite of everything."  
  
"I'm not here to force you to leave, I'm just here to give you the option to leave. Think it over, Gina." And Jarod rose from his chair and headed toward a group of women discussing the fat grams of the birthday cake.  
  
  
Finally able to get a moment of solitude, Parker sat in a hidden nook along the courtyard and lit another cigarette. If she had to tell another man about Joey's little fictional package, she was going to put her spiked heel into someone's throat. If her story had garnered any interest, the men had hid it well. But the interest in her, they hadn't even made an attempt to hide.  
  
Taking a long drag on the cigarette, she tried not to cringe as she remembered the pawing she had endured today. How did you say "hands off" to guys who could do anything they wanted to you, here and now. If she had had her gun, she would have said it with a bullet. But here, unarmed, with her life hinging on Chase's and his guest's good graces, she could do little but endure it and escape their presence before they became too bold.  
  
Closing her eyes, hoping to settle her nerves, she remembered Jarod's gentle hands embracing her, his lips caressing hers. She had thought many times of that moment at Elsie's, of her moment of weakness. And every time a twinge of regret had sneaked through her barriers. Now she knew what she had been denied that night. Jarod's kiss was everything she thought it would be, needed it to be. And today he was just pretending.  
  
Her eyes snapped open. "Stop it Parker," she growled. "He's the mouse, you're the cat." Scanning the crowd, she saw her mouse surrounded by three beautiful women. And they were hand feeding him desserts. "You're suppose to be finding Joey's killer, Jarod. Not being the bake off judge."  
  
Grounding her cigarette into the ground, she was about to break up Jarod's party when she saw the scar faced man from the warehouse latch onto the arm of a young man conversing with two men at the side of the courtyard. The scarred man seemed to be angry and he whispered urgently into the young man's ear. Moments later both men were cutting through the dance floor into the house. Sensing that her tale had finally gotten a response, Parker followed the two men into the house.  
  
  
"Damn it! You told me Joey had nothing concrete," the scarred man's voice was barely audible through the door Parker leaned against.  
  
"He didn't! Well, I didn't think he did but now this woman's here, talking about some package..."  
  
"What woman?"  
  
"You know, the one that came with the new shooter, Jarod."  
  
A curse rent the air. "I shoulda finished them both at the warehouse!"  
  
Suddenly a hand wrapped around Parker's mouth even as an arm snaked around her waist. She was about to go on the attack when Jarod whispered in her ear, "It's me." For a moment she sagged against him in relief as he removed his hand from her mouth. Turning to face Jarod, she breathed, "You scared the hell outta me!"  
  
"Good!" Jarod angrily whispered back. "What are..." but he broke off as the door began to swing open and he yanked Parker clear of the door's swing and into his arms. They remained stock still in one another's arms as the young man stormed out of the room, never bothering to close the door. Soon the scarred man made his exit and slammed the door shut without a backwards glance.  
  
"That was so close," Parker breathed, involuntarily leaning against Jarod's chest in relief.   
  
But a smile was on Jarod's face, "Reminds me of when we were kids, snooping around the Centre."  
  
"Yeah, but being found snooping at the Centre didn't get you killed," she countered but then she became so still that Jarod pulled back and cupped her face with her hands. "That's got to be one of the stupidest things I've ever said," Parker growled.   
  
"When we were kids, we didn't know the risks, the dangers, Miss Parker," Jarod softly remembered.  
  
Parker's eyes turned cold as her voice, "But now I do." She stepped out of his hold and began to head for the courtyard again but Jarod latched onto her arm.  
  
"What did you overhear?"  
  
Meeting Jarod's stern look, Parker announced, "Scarface is our murderer." And she made to walk away but Jarod didn't release his hold on her arm.  
  
"And what, you think Chase is simply going to take your word on that?! He considers "scarface" family, you, he's known only a few hours."  
  
"I can be very convincing," Parker purred.  
  
"This isn't about who tells a better tale. This is about loyalty, family. We need proof, and hard proof at that before Chase will believe any of his men are responsible for Joey's death."  
  
"Alright, well then we'll just have to let things unfold."  
  
"Let what things unfold?" Jarod demanded, as he sensed that Parker wasn't telling him everything. "What exactly did you overhear?"  
  
Parker met Jarod's eyes, "Well, while you were judging the Betty Crocker bakeoff, I was working on getting out of here alive. I put out some bait and apparently I got a fish on the line."  
  
"What bait?" Jarod's voice hedged on a reprimand.  
  
But Parker smiled proudly, "Well, apparently Joey, before he met his untimely demise, was trying to figure out who was leaking information to someone named Delano. I let it be known that Joey took precautions and mailed his evidence to an address where Chase will be able to pick it up."  
  
Jarod seized onto Parker's arms, "And you gave them the impression that you knew the address?!"  
  
Parker smiled deviously, "I never said that."  
  
"Damn it!" Jarod exploded and jerked Parker to be only inches away from him, his eyes boring into hers. "I thought you wanted to get off the hit list, not top it! Now if Chase doesn't kill you, Joey's murderer will! How could you be so stupid!?!"  
  
With surprising ease, Parker flung off Jarod's hold and snarled, "I'm not stupid, Jarod! I did what was necessary to survive. You think you can just burrow down somewhere and you'll survive. Well, life doesn't work that way Jarod. In life you sometimes have to risk everything to win."  
  
Jarod's voice was soft, sad, "And you're all about winning."  
  
"I'm about surviving, Jarod!" When she continued her voice was full of sad conviction, "And only winners survive. My mother's fate won't be mine."   
  
TBC 


	8. Chapter Eight

For the rest of the evening, Jarod remained firmly at Miss Parker's side, even as his eyes tracked "scarface", whose real name was Antonio. As for Antonio's accomplice, Jamie, he had been absent since five minutes after Jarod and Miss Parker rejoined the party.   
  
It was 1:30am before Jarod felt they could graciously bid Chase and his remaining late night guests goodnight and retire to their room. Fatigue settled upon Parker as she and Jarod climbed the stairs. They maintained the silence they had held between them ever since Parker had told Jarod all that she had overheard earlier that night. They were both equally disappointed and alarmed that they had been unable to hear Antonio's solution to his predicament.   
  
Finally reaching their room, Jarod swung open the door and watched as Miss Parker tiredly walked to the bed and claimed a seat. Shutting the door, Jarod went to secure the lock but his hand froze. There was no lock to secure, not even in the doorknob mechanism. There would be no security to be had in this room.  
  
Turning around to face Miss Parker, Jarod leaned against the door, wearing his trade mark smirk, "I'm curious, Miss Parker. Having Joey's killer think you know this address, what does it accomplish? Besides putting your life in danger."   
  
Parker didn't miss Jarod's angry reprimand but icily retorted as if she were dealing with a slow child, "What it accomplished is that we now know that Scarface," as Jarod looked about to correct her, she amended, "Antonio, is our killer. He and his boy Friday, Jamie, were apparently leaking information to Delano."  
  
Jarod's eyes lanced into Parker's, "And what proof can I take to Chase?! Your dead body," he bitterly shot back.  
  
Parker surged from the bed and jabbed a finger at Jarod, "Hey, you're the con man here, Jarod. I set the bait. You set the trap."  
  
Abandoning his unconcerned guise, Jarod stalked to Parker, "I usually design the trap first and then set myself up to be the bait!"  
  
"Deal with it!" Parker snarled and then she grabbed her suitcase, stalked to the bathroom and slammed the door.  
  
Jarod ran a hand through his hair in frustration as he hung his head. Risking his own life on a pretend was one thing, risking Miss Parker's life, that was something else entirely.   
  
  
  
  
  
When Miss Parker exited the bathroom, wearing her silk pants pajamas and sporting wet hair, she found Jarod sitting on the couch, shirtless. Quickly diverting her eyes, she stalked to the bed. Jarod disappeared into the bathroom without a word.  
  
Jarod had been surprised to find a stack of clothing in the room for him. Chase may be a mob boss who could end of killing him, but he was a very courteous host. Now dressed in pajama pants, Jarod emerged from the bathroom and flicked off the light, leaving the room only lit by moonlight that streamed through the windows.  
  
Miss Parker's deadly voice cut through the darkness, "You try to stake your claim in here and I promise you, you won't 'prospect' again. Ever."   
  
A smile pulled onto Jarod's face as he approached the bed, unable to see Parker but knowing she was huddled under the covers on the other side. "I promise, I'll be the perfect gentleman."  
  
"My, you must be getting good at pretending," Parker sallied back, her back to him. But when the bed sank under Jarod's weight, she sprang up and snarled, "And what the hell do you think you're doing! You've got the floor!"  
  
Jarod sat up in the bed and met her eyes in the moonlight, "Maybe you haven't noticed, but there aren't any locks on the door and I don't think we're the kind of "guests" they stand on knocking ceremony."  
  
"Meaning?!" Parker prodded.  
  
"Meaning, we don't know when someone will stroll in that door. And I think you know as well as I do that what's kept us alive so far is Chase's belief that we're not lying to him. About anything. We need to maintain this romance "lie" at all times, Miss Parker."  
  
Begrudging agreement crept into Parker's eyes but she still protested, "Did that line ever work during any of your other pretends? I'm just curious how stupid you like your women."  
  
Jarod smiled and flopped down onto the bed, jolting Parker side of the bed. "This isn't a line, Miss Parker. It's a plan to keep us alive." He watched her slowly accept the truth of his words and settle back onto the bed. Into the silence he softly said, "And I think you know I'm drawn to intelligent, stubborn women."  
  
Parker snorted, "One kiss and you think I'm really "your girl"?! You've started to believe your own pretend, Jarod."  
  
Jarod's reply was soft and full of yearning, "This one I want to."  
  
Immediately Parker leaned over Jarod, her forearm pressing against his throat. "You touch me...at all," she threatened lowly, her eyes boring into his.  
  
But Jarod cut her off, "I believe I've gotten that point, Miss Parker."   
  
Reading his acceptance in his eyes, Parker fell back onto her side of the bed. She almost jumped when Jaord leaned over and whispered good night followed by her first name into her ear. He was back on his side of the bed before she could move.   
  
"I rue the day I ever told you that secret," she grumbled and turned her back on Jarod. "You snore and I'll do a complimentary tonsillectomy."  
  
Then silence fell in the moonlit room as the two occupants remained frozen in place, struggling to remain impartial, unaffected, emotionless.  
  
  
  
As soon as deep sleep claimed Miss Parker, the reoccurring nightmare began it's reign. Parker stood watching her mother as she lay on the birthing table, exhausted from giving birth to Ethan and so very vulnerable. Parker saw Mr. Raines...... her father...... raise the gun and Parker began to run, hoping to take the bullet meant for her mother. But before she could get there, Raines' gun fired that fatal shot, killing her mother instantly. "NOOOOOOOOOO!"  
  
Miss Parker's scream rent the air. Before the scream's echo could die, Jarod was leaning over Miss Parker, his hands cupping her face as her terrified eyes flew open to meet his.   
  
"It was just a nightmare," Jarod soothed as he ran his hand through her hair like a caress.   
  
But Parker scrambled from the bed and stalked to the window. Jarod was wrong. It wasn't a nightmare. It was a family home video. Wiping at the tears that slipped from her eyes as a light illuminated the room, she heard Jarod's approach. He stopped right behind her, his breath rippling against her hair.  
  
"Are you alight?" Jarod's voice was gentle and sincere.  
  
Parker's clipped response was "Peachy," but she made no move to turn around to face Jarod.  
  
Jarod's hand hovered above Miss Parker's shoulder. He wanted to touch her, to comfort her, but he was uncertain if his touch would be welcomed. At the rigid set of her stance, he dropped his hand to his side but ventured softly, "I'll listen if you want to talk about it."  
  
But Parker's response was blanketed in bitterness. "Why?! So you can use it against me, as some part of a game you'll play, or just to gloat."  
  
Jarod flinched at her words, that she thought he would intentionally hurt her. "Gloat?" he questioned with confused pain.  
  
Parker's voice was cold as she bit out, "You will soon have everything you want in this life...your family. While my family..."she clenched her jaw shut, unwilling to let Jarod hear more of the anguished tone that had slipped past her defenses.  
  
Something twisted in Jarod's gut at hearing her voice crack on the word "family". He leaned closer and spoke gently by her ear. "I'm sorry about your father... Mr. Parker. I know you miss him."  
  
Parker closed her eyes as his words of comfort only added to her pain. Her father...the only father she had known until a few months ago, was presumed dead. But Jarod didn't quite know the depths of Miss Parker's sorrow. For all of Jarod's sleuthing, he had never uncovered Catherine Parker's true fate.  
  
'I need a cigarette,' screamed through Parker's head and she suddenly stalked across the room to the table where her cigarette case and lighter lay beckoningly. She lit a cigarette and was beginning to inhale deeply when Jarod snatched it from her mouth. "Give me that!" she demanded, making a grab for the cigarette but Jarod held it behind his back.  
  
"Talk to me," Jarod half demanded, half pleaded as his eyes met Parker's. "Don't shut me out like you do everyone else. I know you Parker, I know your pain."  
  
"Know me?!" she spat. "You know that pathetic little girl that gave you your first kiss. The girl that thought she'd grow up and be a ballerina and make her mother proud. That girl died, Jarod!" She advanced on Jarod, her breath hitting his face. "She died when I "thought" my mother died."  
  
A bitter smile crept onto Parker's features and she laughed hollowly, "That's funny isn't it. My mother's "pretend" killed me more than it killed her. Thanks mom."  
  
Jarod's heart constricted painfully as he watched Parker's anguish consume her. "Miss Parker.."he began gently and he touched her shoulder.  
  
But she jerked away from his touch, and poured herself a drink from the bar. "Technically I'm Miss Raines, right?" and she swallowed the full glass.  
  
Crushing the cigarette into an ashtray, Jarod stalked over to Parker. "You are not like him!"  
  
"Nature versus nurture, Jarod?" A sad smile grew on her face, "Hell, I'm cursed either way."   
  
Jarod could take no more and he seized unto her arms, "You're your mother's daughter, Parker."  
  
But Parker looked to Jarod with the same hurt little girl eyes that he remembered as a boy. With a voice so soft, so broken she countered, "She left me, Jarod. She lied to me...let me think she was dead and she left me."  
  
Jarod met Parker's pained eyes. "She did it to protect you, Parker."  
  
But instead of having the desired effect, Parker's sorrow turned to rage and she shoved Jarod backward. "She killed me, Jarod! Killed my dreams, killed my happiness! She sacrificed me to save you, to have Ethan, to try and destroy the Centre."   
  
"Your mother loved you more than any thing in this life!" Jarod shot back.   
  
"I guess all us Parkers have a funny way of showing love," she bitterly replied. "Well, I'm bait for a killer tomorrow so I think I better get my beauty sleep." And without another word she crossed to the bed, crawled under the covers and turned off the light.  
  
Jarod stood in the now dark room, his emotions raw and unsettled. He empathized with all the people he helped with his pretends but with Miss Parker it was so different. With Parker, her pain was his pain. And he couldn't do a damn thing to make her pain go away.  
  
  
  
TBC 


	9. Chapter Nine

Benny sighed softly as he stood outside Jarod and Miss Parker's room. Chase's orders were very clear to the man, walk into the room, without knocking, and get Jarod downstairs to Chase, pronto. But not knocking, well that seemed rude to Benny. He had been raised with manners after all. But he had seen the look in Chase's eyes and his objections had died. Now he did as he was told.  
  
He swung the door open without a sound and stepped into the room. For a moment he stood, silently watching as the 'guests' slept on. Miss Parker's head was nestled on Jarod's shoulder and Jarod's cheek rested against Parker's dark brown hair. Benny hated to disturb them but he was nothing but loyal to his don.  
  
"Rise and shine!" he called out good-naturedly, his voice at a low decibel.  
  
Awareness came back to Jarod slowly, his eyes squinting against the sunlight filtering into the room. Something stirred against his shoulder and he looked down to find Miss Parker cuddling closer to his neck. 'If this is a dream, don't wake up Jarod,' he firmly told himself. But a millisecond later he sensed an unwelcome character in his "dream" and his eyes snapped up to Benny.  
  
Benny smiled at the look of surprise and disappointment on Jarod's face. "Chase wants you downstairs, now."  
  
Miss Parker's first sound sleep in a month seeped away as voices pulled her into consciousness. Opening her eyes, she found herself staring at a strong neck, and a firm jawline. Letting her eyes travel upward, her eyes met Jarod's and she froze, uncertain of how she came to be lying on Jarod's chest. Before her mind could fully put together the facts, Jarod's eyes meaningfully swung up to their guest.  
  
Following his gaze, Parker met Benny's presence with a cold glare. "You're a bold peeping Tom, aren't you?" she drawled as she pulled away from Jarod, flung the covers back and sauntered to the bathroom.  
  
Jarod watched her go with regret. Talk about poor timing on Benny's part! Turning his attention again to Benny, Jarod sat up in bed, "Alright, I'll be down as soon as I take my shower."  
  
But Benny shook his head, "Now. Throw these on," and he tossed the new clothing he held to Jarod.  
  
Letting the clothing land on the bed, Jarod smiled up at Benny, "Sure but it'll take Parker a good hour to get presentable."  
  
Benny's look darkened, "She ain't going. Just you."  
  
Alarm swept through Jarod. He couldn't let Parker out of his sight, not with the bull's eye she'd painted on herself. "I don't think Chase'll mind if she comes along," Jarod jovially tried to convince the Italian.  
  
But Benny shook his head, "Just you, that was Chase's orders. Your girl stays here. Now get changed or wear your PJs for the day."  
  
'Damn!' surged through Jarod. He hadn't planned on getting separated from Parker...not even for a second. But then another thought broke into his panic, 'Course maybe she's better off not sharing whatever Chase has in store for me.' Aloud he asked, "Can I have some privacy to change and a minute to tell Parker I'm leaving?"  
  
"Sure. Ya got two minutes," Benny agreed and he stepped from the room and closed the door behind him.  
  
Crossing immediately to the bathroom, Jarod knocked urgently on the door. "Parker we need to talk, now," his voice low but urgent. Anticipating an argument, he stumbled back a step when the door swung open instantly and he found himself face to face with Parker.  
  
"So what does our "gracious" host want?" her eyes meeting his with a twinge of the softness he had seen when she awoke on his chest.  
  
Clamping down on the desire to run his hand through her disheveled, beautiful hair, Jarod swallowed hard before he spoke. "He wants me downstairs, now." His eyes grew dark with worry. "And without you."  
  
Parker accepted this news like a present. "Great. It'll be easier to find out about scarface with Chase busy entertaining you.......or burying you in a landfill," her mouth curled up in a smile at her own humor.  
  
But Jarod snapped back, "You will not talk to anyone about Antonio! And you're going to stick by Anna until I return."  
  
"Jarod, you do things your way, I do things my way," she sneered as she stepped back and began closing the bathroom door.  
  
But Jarod stepped into the door's path, stopping Parker's escape. Knowing that she would react badly if he revealed his gut wrenching concern, Jarod tried to sway her resolve with logic. "You told me that I was responsible to set the trap, so why don't you let me do that. I've done this kinda thing a time or two before, you know," a twinkle in his eyes belying the tension that ran through his body.  
  
"And what's this trap, Jarod?" Parker demanded.  
  
"Trust me," Jarod taunted with his mischievous little boy smile.  
  
Parker stiffened at that and her icy glare lanced into him, "But I don't trust you, Jarod."  
  
Jarod stepped closer to Parker, his lips hovered above hers. "Then why were you sleeping contently in my arms?" he whispered.  
  
"Loverboy! Time's up!" Benny called as he slammed the door open. Seeing Jarod's lack of progress, he groused, "For pete sake, put on the clothes!"  
  
Jarod didn't turn to face Benny but kept his eyes glued to Parker. "I'd never hurt you Parker. I know you know that." He saw a softening in her eyes.  
  
"Clothing. On. Now!" Benny barked.  
  
"Promise me you'll do as I ask." He gripped her arms desperately, "Please, Parker. Please," his voice was soft and quivering with his emotions.  
  
His desperation was like an electrical current that ran from his fingers into her body. And then there was the look in his eyes...fear. She didn't think Jarod was afraid of anything. Against everything the Centre had taught her, against everything her father, Mr. Parker, had taught her, she trusted Jarod. More than any other soul she had ever met. She sighed and softly agreed, "Alright Jarod, I promise."  
  
Impulsively, Jarod kissed her joyously on the lips, his hand buried in her hair. But an instant later, Benny's burly hand snagged unto his arm and yanked him toward the door. "I'll be back as soon as I can," he called as Benny yanked him out the door, not with angry force but big brotherly insistence.   
  
Parker stood watching the open door, her fingers lightly tracing her lips that tasted like Jarod. Somehow, his parting words meant more to her than any of her past lover's emotional declarations. Jarod's words held promise and concern and protection and... 'Don't say it!' her mind threatened but her heart had already murmured it in her soul since she was a little girl. 'Love'.  
  
  
TBC 


	10. Chapter Ten

To Jarod's surprise, he found himself ushered down the beach and into a speed boat. Suddenly his promise that neither he nor Parker would "sleep with the fishes" wasn't such a sure thing. "I thought you were taking me to Chase?"  
  
Benny smiled, "I am. He's been out fishing since 5am. Aren't you glad he let you sleep in?" A knowing look beamed in Benny's eyes.  
  
As Jarod thought about the way Parker had rested against his chest this morning, a smile pulled onto his face, "Very glad." But as Benny untied the boat and sent it skimming over the water, Jarod looked longingly back at the disappearing villa. His trap for Antonio and Jamie required one essential thing...that he actually be at the villa.  
  
'And I told Parker to trust me?!' he rebuked himself even as he prayed that Antonio and Jamie were among Chase's fishing crew. If they weren't...Jarod swallowed down his fear. Parker wasn't just any woman. She was neither weak nor stupid. And, above all things, she was a survivor. But his reassurance failed to calm the growing terror that coursed through him. Yes, Parker was all that he had said she was. But she was also something else, something he had always left unspoken. Parker was the woman that he loved with all his heart and soul.  
  
  
  
Even though doing Jarod's bidding ran against her grain, Parker had given her word and now put the promise into action. She found Chase's grandmother hard at work in the kitchen.  
  
"Can I do anything to help?" Parker greeted, earning Anna's attention.  
  
A smile sprang onto Anna's face and she removed her hands from the dough she had been kneading. "Good morning! Would you like some coffee?"  
  
Caught off guard by the woman's genuine warmth, Parker found herself smiling back, "Yes, thank you."  
  
"Alright. Now have a seat at the table," Anna gently ordered.   
  
Taking a seat at the table Chase had sat at last night, Parker ran her hand over the smooth cherry wood table top, remembering the birthday celebration with jealousy and sadness.  
  
Anna placed a fine china cup and saucer in front of Parker and claimed a seat at the table. She watched as Parker took a delicate sip of coffee before putting the cup back on the saucer.  
  
"Thank you for the coffee, Anna," Parker said, breaking the silence that had settled in the kitchen. She almost jumped when Anna's hand rested atop hers.  
  
"You seem so sad, dear. Is there anything I can do?" Anna kindly offered, her gentle eyes meeting Parker's startled look.  
  
But Parker shook her head airily as if Anna's words hadn't pierced through her barriers. "No, I'm fine," her voice straining to be light.  
  
Anna's look told Parker that she wasn't fooled but she simply patted Parker's hand, stood and offered, "You can help me make bread if you want to?"  
  
  
Jarod climbed onto the yacht and headed to the bow even as his eyes sought out every crevice, praying to catch sight of Antonio and Jamie. Having reached the bow without sight of either man, Jarod's heart pounded in his chest as he saw that the two men were also not at Chase's side.  
  
For the first time, Benny left Jarod's side and whispered in Chase's ear, "They weren't lying. They're lovers."  
  
"Thanks Benny," Chase murmured, receiving the news half with regret and half with satisfaction. Chase now met Jarod's eyes with more trust. "You fish, Jarod?"  
  
Seeing no advantage in demanding where Antonio and Jamie were, Jarod stepped into his role. "I do, though I haven't done it lately." He crossed to Chase's side and stared down at the fishing line that disappeared beyond the ocean's murky depths and then met Chase's look unflinchingly. "Have any luck so far?" his tone serious as he realized they were talking about more than fish.  
  
"A few bites," Chase countered, searing his look into Jarod for a full minute. Then, as if coming to a decision, Chase smiled and with a wave of his hand, ordered his men to leave them. In moments, Chase and Jarod were alone.  
  
Chase beckoned Jarod to a table laden with breakfast food. As they both claimed seats, Chase handed Jarod a glass of orange juice and a moment of silence fell again. "Your Miss Parker works security for a research company called The Centre, out of Delaware." Chase told Jarod, not questioned. Jarod remained silent. "I'm curious. How did you two meet?"  
  
Jarod smiled, "Firing range."  
  
"Who's the better shot?"  
  
At that Jarod's smile grew cocky, "I am...but don't tell her that."  
  
Laughter broke from Chase. But an instant later, he sobered and there was a new deadliness in his eyes. "You had nothing to do with Joey's murder, did you? Not you or your Miss Parker?" More statement than question.   
  
"No, we didn't, but I think I know who did," Jarod replied, trying to gauge Chase's receptiveness to the truth.  
  
A sad smile emerged on Chase's face, "I thought Miss Parker's trolling might have picked up a fish."  
  
Jarod sat back in the chair, relief coursing through him. "She thought it best to find Joey's real killers. Just in case you weren't convinced of our innocence."  
  
"Smart woman."  
  
A proud smile sprang to Jarod's face, "Very."  
  
  
  
'Jarod would be laughing if he saw me now,' Parker thought with a laugh as she kneaded more dough and let the flour remain on her silk skirt and Italian shoes.  
  
"You made the mistake of offering to help Anna, didn't you?" a female voice full of humor brought Parker's eyes up to the brunette woman now at her side. Immediately, she knew this was the woman she had seen Jarod talking so earnestly with last night.  
  
"Baking isn't really my specialty?" Parker offered as an excuse for her disheveled appearance.   
  
But a twinkle came into the woman's eyes, "Oh, hang around Anna long enough and it will be. I'm Gina."  
  
"Parker," Parker returned with a smile.  
  
"Here, let me take a turn at that," Gina offered and Parker gratefully stepped back from the counter.  
  
Gina worked the dough like a pro. "So where'd Anna sneak off to?"  
  
"She went to her garden for some herbs." Parker took the opportunity to get another cup of coffee and sat a steaming cup on the counter for Gina.  
  
"I know why you're here," Gina whispered, her eyes meeting Parker's with gratitude.  
  
Parker remained silent. She didn't even know why she was here.  
  
Gina continued, "I know my grandmother thinks I should leave Peter, get away from this family but I can't. Among all the ugliness there's goodness....love. I can help the other wives, can protect them against the worst of this lifestyle. I can do good here." Gina dropped her look, " I know you can't understand this, understand my choice to stay...."  
  
Parker gently touched Gina's shoulder. "I do understand, more than I want to."  
  
Gina eyes shot up to Parker's in surprise but before she could respond, Pauly walked into the kitchen and stopped in front of Parker. "Chase wants to see you. Now."  
  
  
  
  
An anger grew in Chase's eyes as Jarod told him the conversation he and Parker had overheard between Antonio and Jamie. But to Jarod's relief, Chase didn't deny Jarod's words out of hand but instead ordered the yacht back to the villa. Jarod fervently prayed that nothing had happened to Parker in his absence.   
  
  
  
Parker wasn't surprised when Pauly's guided tour led to the beach. She had casually asked Anna where Chase was this morning and the older woman had replied, 'Fishing since 5 this morning. He was going to drag Jarod out with him at that hour but I told him that was no way to treat a guest. Benny gladly offered to bring Jarod along later. Benny isn't a morning person...no matter what the occasion.' Parker had wondered then if Anna knew how Chase tended to treat his "guests". Now she wondered if she would get knowledge of Chase's true "generosity", up close and personal.  
  
But as she climbed the sandy banks, she saw the docks were empty except for a boat that Parker wouldn't dignify calling anything but a dingy. And the yacht Anna had described was not even on the horizon. Decisively Parker swung around to face Pauly, ready to demand answers to her growing number of questions.  
  
She found herself glaring in silence at the gun Pauly leveled at her head. "Delano must have deep pockets to bribe all three of you. Or do you just get whatever cut old scarface tosses your way," she sneered.  
  
Put Pauly didn't react to the barb. "Little lady, you're quite a hell cat aren't you. And smart too."  
  
"Smart enough to know Chase is going to be using your body parts for bait on his next fishing trip," Parker hissed as she stood tall, her eyes almost daring Pauly to pull the trigger.  
  
All light left Pauly's eyes as he cocked the gun, "Get moving or I'll put a bullet between those gorgeous eyes."  
  
Hesitating, Parker weighed her choices and chances but the look in Pauly's eyes made the decision for her. Turning on her heel, she marched down the beach with Pauly in tow.  
  
Parker was roughly directed into the brush just off the beach and to a hidden cellar that was once home to pirates and their precious stolen cargo. The steps were uneven and the air was stale and close as she descended into the shadowy depths. At the bottom of the steps, a dark hallway lay before her, the only visible light coming from the room at the far end.  
  
Without warning, one of Pauly's huge hands shoved her forward, causing her to stumble against the wall. Parker let herself fall to her knees.  
  
"Get up!" Pauly growled even as he dropped his hand onto her shoulder, ready to yank Parker to her feet.  
  
Instantly Parker twisted around as she surged to her feet, plowing the heel of her hand into Pauly's nose. Pauly staggered back with a cry of agony but Parker's forearm slammed into his head without mercy sending his head bouncing into the stone walls. Pauly slid to the cold floor, unconscious.  
  
Parker searched the dark hallway for Pauly's gun but, sensing movement from the room behind her, she abandoned the search, leaped over Pauly and ran for the stairs. She was two steps from the top when she was tackled from behind. Slamming unmercifully into the steps, she lay dazed for a moment trying to shake off the pain as the weight of her attacker lifted. A hand ruthlessly grabbed onto her hair and a voice snarled in her ear, "Stand up! Now!"  
  
Obediently she levered herself off the steps and stood, but the grip in her hair didn't ease but instead tightened. Once standing, she found herself eye to eye with scarface's young lackey, Jamie.  
  
"Lackey number two. Right on time. Good boy. I'm sure your master will throw you a juicy bone," Parker sallied, earning her a backhanded slap to the left cheek that sent her tripping down the remaining stairs and unto the cellar floor.  
  
An anger was stoked in Parker's soul, not just from the recent abuse but for all the cruelties fate had been heaped on her head so recently. When Jamie descended the stairs toward her, Parker unleashed a kick into his chest as if he were the embodiment of all her agony. Jamie slammed back into the stairs, stunned even as Parker regained her feet.  
  
"Come get me," Parker snarled, tensing for any move Jamie would make. But his move, a right cross, sailed harmlessly by Parker's jaw as she drew back. However, her right cross found it's mark with cruel accuracy, snapping Jamie's head around. She followed with a punch into his stomach and an elbow to his temple. He joined Pauly in the ranks of the unconscious.  
  
Not wasting any time, Parker again made her way up the stairs to the beckoning sunlight. She emerged from the depths of the cellar only to be stopped cold by a voice behind her. "Joey never saw the bullet coming." Scarface aka Antonio circled to face Parker, his gun aimed at her stomach. He leaned in close, his breath hitting her in the face, "You won't get off that easy."  
  
For once Parker's acid tongue abandoned her in the face of such unchecked evil. In the pit of her stomach she knew Joey was the lucky one.  
  
  
TBC 


	11. Chapter Eleven

Backing down wasn't in Miss Parker's nature. She had stood toe to toe with some of the nastiest pieces of work the Centre had to offer without blinking an eye. That courage didn't desert her now as she stood toe to toe with Antonio, her eyes searing into him like missiles, even as her hands were handcuffed to a pipe over her head.   
  
But, where as the Centre's punishment for such audacity was quickly administered either by a trip to the renewal wing or a bullet to the head, Antonio seemed to relish every moment. As if to punctuate that point, another slap landed across Miss Parker's cheek. Though her head snapped in response, her eyes soon burned into Antonio's once again.  
  
Stepping close, Antonio lowly offered, "I'll stop this right now. Just tell me where Joey sent the package."  
  
A low bitter laugh broke from Parker. What a mess she had gotten herself into! Because of her "brilliant" plan, she was being tortured about a package that didn't exist. Even more ridiculous, that infamous non-existent package was the only thing keeping her breathing. Hell, she could give old scarface an address, she even knew some of Chase's warehouse addresses, but the real trouble began if he believed her. It would make her useless and by the look in Antonio's eyes, he was quite efficient in discarding useless people.  
  
"Tell you what," Parker snarled, "let's play this like fish. You make a guess about the address and I'll tell you if you're right." This earned her a punch to the stomach.  
  
Antonio grasped her jaw brutally, "You don't want to play games with me. I don't lose...ever."  
  
"Neither do I. Go fish." Parker growled. Antonio delivered a backhanded slap to Parker's left cheek.  
  
"I think it's time to take the game to a new level," Antonio smiled with a coldness that twisted Parker's stomach before he walked to the rear of the room with his cohorts.   
  
Death was no stranger to Parker. She had seen it's cold hand steal her mother away and Faith and Thomas. And she had felt its icy grasp on her own life a time or two. But now it seemed an inescapable predator. There were no more Hudini acts to perform, the curtain was falling on her last act. And the life that was going to flash before her eyes wasn't the stuff of home movies.  
  
Not for the first time, she was ashamed of her life ...of her soul. But this time she was faced with the true prospect of dying and seeing her mother and she was terrified of the disappointment....disgust that would radiate from the eyes that had once held her with such love. There was very little in her life that she could be proud of. It was ironic, her mother had been killed because of her ambition to free Jarod and now here Parker was, about to be killed because of her ambition to capture Jarod.  
  
Her mother had treated Jarod like a human being, while Parker had treated him like a means to an end. Her freedom for his. In her head, it sounded like a great strategy. In her heart, it sounded like the death of her soul and his. If Jarod's only merit had been his genius, he would have been worth neither the cost of his freedom nor his capture. No, it was Jarod's heart that made Catherine Parker risk her life for his. And it was Jarod's heart that had slowly been deteriorating the wall Parker had fortified around her heart.  
  
'I'm sorry, Jarod.' Parker silently sent out, praying that Jarod would someday know the truth of the words. 'If I had the chance, I'ld change. I'ld seize that turning point. I'ld make my mother proud and maybe you too.'  
  
Her thoughts were interrupted as Antonio approached. He halted in front of her, brought his hand in front of her face and flicked open a switchblade knife. "I hate to mar that gorgeous face."   
  
"Guess it'll be a closed casket," Parker evenly replied, bravely accepting the fate that lay before her.  
Before the yacht had settled against the dock, Jarod leaped onto the dock and ran for the villa, his only thoughts of Parker. Slamming through the front door he came up short, "Parker?! Parker?! Anna?!" He began to take the stairs two at a time when a voice spoke from below.   
  
"Miss Parker's with Chase, Jarod," Gina supplied as she stood at the base of the stairs wiping her hands on a dishtowel.  
  
Jarod spun to face Gina, ready to launch into his questions but Chase, having entered the villa with Benny not more than ten steps behind Jarod, cut in "Who told Miss Parker to come see me?"  
  
"Pauly."  
  
Chase's cursed and hung his head in agony at the newest betrayer. But Jarod didn't let Chase wallow in his emotions. Striding to Chase, Jarod stood toe to toe with the don and snarled, "Where would they take her?!" Chase raised his head and met Jarod's enraged eyes but remained silent.   
  
Panic tore through Jarod and he clutched onto Chase's shirt and yelled into his face, "Where would they take her?!"  
  
Benny cocked his gun and rested it against Jarod's shoulder, "Back off. Now."  
  
But Jarod cared little for his own life not when Parker's was at stake. Jarod shook Chase, "They are your men! You're the one who couldn't control them and now Parker's paying the price!"  
  
Suddenly Chase shoved Jarod back and brought his own gun against Jarod's temple. "Your life, her life has been in my hands since the start," Chase's deadly tone didn't begin to match the depths of his darkened eyes. "I let you live when it was safer to put a bullet in your skull. I treated you like honored guests. And now you disrespect me like this." Chase leaned in close, his eyes boring into Jarod's "Know this, I will do whatever I have to do to regain control of my family." He paused a moment before threatening, "Now you can either share Antonio's fate and never lay eyes on Parker again or you can shut your mouth and do exactly as I say. What's it gonna be?"  
  
Jarod searched Chase's eyes a moment before replying, "What do you want me to do?"  
Antonio drew the blade lightly along Ms. Parker's neck, leaving a thin trail of blood in it's wake. "No, I think I'ld like to savor the moment, work my way up to the finale." Before Parker could fully guess his meaning, Antonio raised the knife from her neck. An instant later a cry of agony escaped her barriers as the blade ripped across her right side.  
  
A satisfied smile sprang to Antonio's lips, "The ice maiden does feel pain. Now I'm going to start enjoying myself."   
  
A second cut tore into Parker's right side but this time she steeled herself for the agony, biting down on her lip to hold back the scream that tried to crawl up her throat. The third cut skittered across her ribs and she clamped her eyes shut with the effort of bearing the growing agony.  
  
Breath stinking of garlic fluttered across her face, "I'll stop right now. Just tell me the address."  
  
Parker swallowed hard and put her terror into the box the Centre had nurtured in her soul. Slowly Parker opened her eyes and met Antonio's merciless look.   
  
A curse spilled from Antonio at the now concrete resolve he saw in the woman's eyes. This woman was a fighter. She would use all the pain he inflicted on her and redirect it into hatred. Hatred that kindled the fight in her soul, that nurtured her strength and tightened her grasp on life.   
  
Parker's voice was low, seductive, deadly as her eyes seared into Antonio's "I'm not going to tell you what the address is because, just like Joey, it's going to be my revenge from the grave. It must be frustrating to kill people to cover up a secret and still not be able to shut them up."  
  
A yell of rage erupted from Antonio and Parker watched without outward fear as the knife began to arch toward her throat.  
  
A cell phone's shrill ring jolted Antonio from his intent. He swung to face his two men. It was Pauly who sheepishly pulled his phone from his jacket pocket.   
  
"Yeah," he answered as his eyes never left Antonio's. "Hey, Chase how's the fishing?" Silence fell on Pauly's side of the conversation for a few moments before he spoke again. "Well I wouldn't come in yet if I were catching that many either. No, no pressing business here." A pause, "I said nothing going on here." Pauly shrugged in frustration to Antonio. "Hold on, I'm inside the villa. Maybe the connection'll be better outside." With that said, Pauly headed down the cave hallway, his voice echoeing off the walls "Can you hear me?" A moment later Pauly could not be heard in the cave.  
  
Antonio resighted his attention on Parker.  
"Alright, Chase, how am I coming in now?" Pauly asked as he emerged from the cave. A gun barrel suddenly rested on the back of his head.   
  
"Just fine," Chase replied, taking Pauly's gun from it's holster and handing it to Benny. Chase roughly pulled Pauly backward away from the cave entrance and shoved him to his knees. Chase hissed in his ear, "Make a sound and I'll let you live...as a vegetable." Giving a nod for Benny to handle Pauly, Chase headed for the cave.  
"Now I think I was about to kill you when we got interrupted," Antonio drawled standing in front of Parker once again. "Jamie, make sure Pauly's off the phone. I wouldn't want Ms. Parker's screams to be overheard by Chase."  
  
Jamie did as he was ordered and headed for the hallway. But at his first step into the hallway, he saw Chase striding toward him and made a vain attempt to pull his gun. Chase's bullet slammed into Jamie's chest, spinning him to the ground. Chase stepped over the corpse without a glance.  
  
At the gunshot, Antonio had swung behind Parker, pulled his gun and rested it against her temple. As Chase stepped into the room of the cave, his gun leveled at Antonio's skull, Antonio hid further behind Parker. "I will kill her Chase."  
  
Chase's deadly gaze met Antonio's. "I know that. That's why I didn't come alone."  
  
Antonio searched behind Chase for another shooter but only darkness lurked in the shadows.   
  
Suddenly the wall behind Antonio tumbled in and Antonio swirled to face this new threat. Jarod leaped from the crumbled wall and swung the pickaxe he carried at Antonio. Ducking the blow, Antonio raised his gun to shoot Jarod in the heart. But it was Antonio's heart that a bullet pierced and he crumbled to the ground like a discarded puppet.  
  
Dropping the axe, Jarod rushed to Ms. Parker and a sob caught in his throat at the bruises and blood. With gentleness, he caressed her face. "I am so sorry, Parker," his eyes filling with tears.  
  
A weary smiled pulled onto Parker's cut lips, "I'm letting the Pretending up to you from now on," she breathed finally allowing her pain to be unveiled.  
  
Chase, having riffled through Jamie's pocket and finding the key, he reached up and unlocked the cuffs that bound Parker's wrists.   
  
Parker sagged into Jarod's waiting arms and he buried himself against her. Tears streamed freely down his face as he clung desperately to her battered body. "I love you Parker. I love you and I'ld die if I lost you."  
  
The world was starting to fade into black for Parker and it was hard to tell where the line between reality and dream ended and began. But she knew in her heart that Jarod's arms were real, that his strength and protection were real and that the words that sailed into her heart were too sweet and precious for even a dream. Finally her fight was over, she had won the most precious thing in the world. Jarod's love.  
  
"Parker!" Jarod choked out as Parker collapsed unconscious against his chest. Immediately he swept her into his arms and strode down the hallway onto the beach. Sparing a glance to her pale, bruised face as it lay in the crook of his arm, Jarod pleaded, "Don't leave me, Parker. Please, don't leave me."  
TBC 


	12. Chapter Twelve

(Sorry this is a short baby chapter but I wanted you to know I haven't abandoned this story!!)   
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With his heart pounding with fear, Jarod made the trek across the sand, careful to not jostle Parker. To his surprise, the villa door swung open at his approach.  
  
As Jarod entered the hallway with his precious burden, Gina beckoned, "Come. We have a room set up with medical supplies." Jarod obediently followed her down the basement stairs and into a room hidden behind a false wall. He voiced no judgement about the need for such a room. The only concern he had in the world, he held in his arms.   
  
Tenderly Jarod laid Parker unto the bed and lightly brushed her hair off her bloodied face. Rage, fear and self-hatred warred within him at the sight of Parker's injuries. Clenching his jaw, he swallowed down his emotions. He needed to be the consummate doctor now.  
  
"I'll call our doctor," Gina stammered and started for the door. Jarod caught her wrist, halting her motion and met her eyes.   
  
"No. I'll take care of her myself," his voice hard and possessive. Any objections Gina had, she discarded as she saw Jarod's pain filled eyes. Without a doubt, she knew Jarod would never put Miss Parker's life in danger...not for pride or power or even for his own survival. Gina nodded and, sensing that Jarod would not even welcome assistance, she left the room, closing the door behind her.  
  
When Gina left, Jarod, for the first time, spared a look of inspection at the room. It was like looking at a doctor's examination room, complete with sink, equipment and medial supplies most ambulances could not boast. The bed was the only thing non medical, though Jarod would have bet that a rubber matting could be found under the bedspread to stem any blood from ruining the mattress. But what sickened Jarod most was the thought that presently it was Parker's blood that threatened to soak into the bedding.  
  
That thought was powerful enough to snap him out of his haze. Instantly, Jarod the doctor was in. After scouring the drawers for the equipment and supplies he would need, Jarod sterilized his hands with disinfectant soap and hot water. But when he turned to tend to Parker, seeing her lying so still, covered in blood and bruises, it was like a knife in his heart all over again.  
  
'Stop being the man that loves her and start being the doctor that will save her life!' Jarod silently commanded to himself. With resolve, he became what she needed him to be and began to tend to her injuries with the skill of a top ranking doctor but with the tenderness of the man that loved her more than his own life.  
The nightmare began for Parker as it always did..in the room in Mr. Raines' house. She could see her mother so clearly, it was almost as if she could stretch out her hand and brush her mother's damp hair. But Parker couldn't move, she never could in this horrible dream that spoke of the past. No, as always she was forced to watch helplessly as the events occurred in the room.  
  
However this dream wasn't a carbon copy of the one that had haunted her nightly. No, this time Parker found her wrists were cuffed to a pipe in the ceiling and she could see a knife flashing against sunlight. And when she turned to see who brandished the knife, Lyle's face came into focus.  
  
His ever taunting smile was covering his face, "Tell me where the package is, Parker. Tell me and I'll let you save our mommie," he sneered.  
  
Parker's eyes shot to see her mother when a mere second later Mr. Raines entered the room. She knew what came next, what always came next. Brutally Lyle grabbed onto her face and forced her eyes to met his, "Tell me where the package is?!"  
  
"There is no package, you moron!" Parker growled.  
  
But Lyle laughed, "Sure there is, sis. Jarod's the package."  
  
Parker's heart thudded even more painfully in her chest. She knew where Jarod was, for once she actually knew. Here was her opportunity to make everything right, to save her mother and to free herself from the Centre. But the words wouldn't come.  
  
Lyle's knife sliced into Parker's face and a moan of pain escaped her clenched jaw. "Where's Jarod?!" Lyle yelled before he stepped aside to give Parker a front seat view of Mr. Raines raising the gun, poised to shoot her mother. Lyle whispered in Parker's ear, "You can save her. You can change your whole life right here and now."  
  
Indecision tore at Parker like never before. But then, for the first time, her mother's eyes sought hers from across the room. And Parker read understanding and compassion in Catherine Parker's eyes, almost as if she knew Parker stood in that room and faced the horrible decision before her.  
  
Then Catherine's love filled voice floated into Parker's ears, "I thought I could keep you safe but now I know only Jarod can truly save you. Give yourself to Jarod and you will remember the best part of me and save the best part of you."  
  
Suddenly Parker found herself, not in the hellish room at Raines house, but standing in a field of vibrant flowers. At the sound of laughter, she looked down to see Catherine Parker seated on the ground, a joyous smile on her face. "Mother?" Parker breathed and sank down into her mother's arms. For the first time in so many lonely, painful years, Parker felt her mother's arms hold her tightly.   
  
"It's time to walk away from the past," Catherine tenderly advised in Parker's ear even as she held fast to her daughter."You're free if you choose to be."  
  
"Mom...I don't ..know ..how..." Parker sobbed, grasping more tightly to her mother.   
  
Catherine stroked Parker's hair just as she had done in Parker's childhood., "Yes, you do know how to walk away. And you're strong enough to break free of the Centre, with Jarod's love."  
  
Startled, Parker pulled back to look into her mother's eyes. Catherine tapped Parker playfully on the nose, "Don't look so surprised. A mother knows these things."  
  
A strangled laugh and sob caught in Parker's throat. "I miss you mom."  
  
Catherine wiped away a tear that streamed down Parker's face. "And I miss you. But it's time for you to let your heart lead you." Then Catherine stood and kissed Parker on the head. "We will be together again. I'll be waiting here for you when it's time but not a moment sooner. Always remember that I love you..forever." And she gave a soft smile to her daughter before she disappeared.  
TBC 


	13. Chapter Thirteen

Helplessness. Jarod was all too familiar with this emotion's icy grip. The Centre had relentlessly saturated his soul with it. Not surprisingly, with his first breath of Centre-free air, Jarod had bitterly sworn that he would never be helpless again.  
  
But as he examined Parker, he could not ward off the helplessness that pierced his soul. Yes, the doctor in him could stitch the knife cuts, wrap her raw wrists, could tend to the bruises that marred her beautiful face and spread across her ribs. But Jarod the man was helpless to erase the torture she had endured. Torture that had been inflicted on her because of his actions, his pretend, his pride.  
  
As he had in the past hours, Jarod sat in a chair beside Parker, his sight transfixed on Parker's motionless, bruised face. His own words to Parker kept running through his head, "Trust me. I'ld never hurt you Parker."   
  
With self-hatred, Jarod surged to his feet and began to pace the length of the small room. He had foolishly thought he could protect her, could control the actions of Antonio, of Chase. He had been wrong and she had paid the price. Dearly. Almost with her very life.  
  
Sinking back into the chair beside Parker, Jarod held his head in his hands. He hadn't lied when he had told Parker "I'ld die if I lost you". Even at the "thought" of losing her to death, his soul had began to wither.  
  
All this time he had sworn that when he reunited with his family he'd never take them for granted. But he had taken Parker for granted, time and again. Had resorted to tauntings and clues and unfinished phone calls in the middle of the night. Even during the times when her life had hung in the balance, he had chosen to hide behind his pretend façade, afraid or unwilling to let her see his true concern. Now with painful certainty, he knew what a fool he had been for she was a part of his soul as much as his family ever could be.  
  
"Mom," Parker called softly, causing Jarod's head to snap up even as his hand sprang to caress her cheek. With relief, Jarod sensed Parker was emerging from the cocoon of unconsciousness that had held her in it's fold for the past six hours.   
  
Again "Mom" broke from Parker's cut lips and her plea tore into Jarod's heart. Suddenly Jarod was struck with the truth. Parker knew exactly how precious family was and how agonizing it was to be separated from them. Just like he did.  
  
Leaning close to Parker, Jarod stroked Parker's face and murmured, "I'll help you find your mom, Parker." He was unprepared for Parker's eyes to open and meet his own with such lucidity. But it was her first coherent words that shocked him to his core.  
  
"My mother's dead, Jarod," Parker's voice was soft and cloaked with weary acceptance.   
  
Jarod did not doubt the conviction of Parker's words. Not when he looked in her eyes. "I'm sorry, Parker," his own voice thick with emotions. "I..I didn't know.."  
  
Parker put her fingers gently to Jarod's lips, halting his words. She wanted to say something strong, something that proved to Jarod that she could handle the cruelties dealt her time and again. But months of sorrow and loneliness, added to Antonio's torture and the dream of her mother's goodbye had unmercifully melted the reservoir of her icy façade. Tears gathered in her eyes and slipped down her bruised cheeks and a sob broke from her like it was ripped from the depths of her soul.   
  
Instantly Jarod claimed a seat on the bed and gathered Parker into his arms. Mindful of her injuries, he settled her against his chest and held her as tightly as he dared as the sobs wracked her body. There was little he could say to ease her sorrow. He knew how he felt when Kyle had died. The only true comfort he had wanted, he could never have because death never relinquishes it's prey. No, all the comfort he could offer her was his presence and his love for her.  
  
Slipping her arms around Jarod's waist, Parker clung to the solace she felt just by being held in his embrace. And for the first time since she had viewed the DSA and knew her mother's final fate, Parker allowed herself to cry the tears she had forbade herself to let fall.   
  
When her sobs finally dissolved, Parker laid spent, emotionally and physically, against Jarod's chest but didn't relinquish her hold of him. "Scarface dead?" she quietly asked and she felt Jarod stiffen under her.  
  
"Yes," Jarod bit out, his ignited fury making speech barely possible.  
  
"Damn, I wanted to sign him up for some of the Centre's pain threshold experiments," Parker drawled with some of her usual venom.  
  
Jarod couldn't hold back his chuckle or fight the joy he felt at hearing venom drip from Parker's words. Under all the cuts and bruises and tears, the same old Parker spirit thrived. "Cheer up, maybe Chase'll let you have Pauly."  
  
Parker snorted, "That whelp would be broken before they wheeled out the "equipment" for the experiments!"   
  
A silence fell in the room and Jarod lightly caressed Parker's hair. Then, with unveiled anguish, Jarod choked out, "I'm sorry I got you involved. I'm sorry I let them hurt you, that I didn't protect you. I should have never let them bring you to the villa!" His self-loathing growing with each apology.  
  
"You act like Chase gave us an option to go on this little "vacation?!" Parker snorted without giving up her comfy position in Jarod's arms. "I hate to break it to you Jarod, but you haven't been in control of this situation from the start. " Then, tilting her head up for the first time, she met Jarod's look. "Unless you still want to try and convince me that things were going as you planned back at the warehouse, with Antonio about to put a bullet in your skull," she teased, her lips almost turning up in a smile.  
  
Caught off guard by Parker's teasing tone, Jarod couldn't fight the smile that spread across his face. "Maybe things weren't going exactly as I planned."  
  
"Really?" Parker taunted. "Let me guess, you wanted Chase to shoot you personally?"   
  
Jarod's laughter reverberated through his chest and he impulsively kissed Parker's nose. "You just love the fact that you saved my life."  
  
"Almost as much as I love the fact that you saved my life today," Parker sallied back.  
  
But, instead of taking the retort with humor as Parker intended, Jarod's eyes darkened with anguish at her words. "Parker.." he began, his tone thick with regret.  
  
Parker cut off the apology she knew was coming. "Jarod, it wasn't your job to protect me." A hard edge began to return to her voice. "It's up to me to protect myself. Besides, it's not like I didn't have some of this coming. You know the saying "If you dish it out, you got to be able to take it" and you of all people know how ruthless I can be." Jarod frowned at the judgmental words Parker flung at herself. But, sensing Jarod was about to defend her, Parker sharply commanded, "Don't. Don't try and defend me." And she began to pull from Jarod's embrace.  
  
Capturing her face in his hands, Jarod stopped her escape. "You did not deserve this! None of it!" his voice emphatic, while his eyes were warm with compassion. "You deserve the best this life has to offer." A beat of silence. "You always did."  
  
Parker's heart silently questioned, 'But do I deserve you, Jarod?'  
TBC (One more chapter and I'll wrap this tale up!!) 


	14. Chapter Fourteen

Sensing a softening in Parker, Jarod, with his hands still caressing Parker's face, began to lay his heart open to her. "I'd do anything to see you happy...and safe. Parker I .."  
  
A discreet knock on the door halted Jarod's words as both he and Parker eyed the door wearily. Chase, Gina and Anna had visited with Parker during the six hours she lay unconscious but none had lingered, sensing Jarod's desire to tend to Parker alone. With frustrated regret, Jarod eased Parker from his arms and gently settled her on the bed before rising and crossing to the door.  
  
Opening the door swiftly, he found Gina standing at the threshold, Parker's suitcase in one hand and her cell phone in the other.   
  
"I thought Miss Parker would want her clothing...when she woke up," Gina explained, searching Jarod's expression for the desolation she had seen the last time she had visited with Parker. But the desolation was gone and a new light shone in Jarod's eyes. "Is she awake?"  
  
Jarod smiled, "Yes. Please come in." And stepped aside, allowing Gina to enter the room.  
  
Gina smiled at Parker as their eyes met. "It's so good to see you awake."  
  
Parker repositioned herself on the bed and groaned, "There were advantages to being unconscious," she groused but a lightness hued her words.  
  
Gina's face darkened and she stammered, "I'm sorry," and she turned to face Jarod. "I know you came here to help me and now I'm refusing that help." She swung back to Parker, "And you were almost killed.... I...I can't undo what was done...and I...I wish I could agree to leave...but.."  
  
Parker's eyes met Gina's with heartfelt understanding, "I know the position you are in. I know what it's like to make decisions not based on your happiness but because you can't live with the any other choice."  
  
"I ...I think you do understand. My family never will but they ...they are not living my life, feeling what I feel, seeing what I see. It is like you said, staying is the only choice I can live with." Gina took a steadying breath, "But I have happiness here and that's what makes my decision bearable. My mother always told me that no one deserves to go through life without happiness."  
  
A lump suddenly gathered in Parker's throat at Gina's last words.   
  
Seeing Parker's face go paler, Gina thought she had tired Parker by staying too long. "Well, I just wanted to thank you again. And Chase said you are...well...you can...a car will take you back to the city whenever you wish to leave. You are more than welcome to stay the rest of the week with the rest of the family but...Chase thought maybe you would want to leave." Flustered, Gina handed Parker's phone to Jarod and exited the room.  
  
Jarod turned back to Parker, also taking note of her expression but seeing it for the emotional pain it truly was. He was about to speak when the phone in his hand began to ring. With a smug smile he answered, "Yes Sydney."  
  
The older gentlemen's startled voice swept across the air waves, "Jarod!?!"  
  
Jarod laughed at the incredolous tone, "Yes, Jarod."  
  
"Thank goodness," Sydney breathed in relief. "Miss Parker's with you. I was worried that something had happened to her."   
  
Jarod looked at Parker's bruised face that intently watched him and remembered the brutal torture inflicted on her and his throat constricted. Sydney was certain that Parker was safe because she was with him. But Jarod knew the truth. Parker was hurt BECAUSE she was with him. With new clarity he saw the danger she was in just by being around him. If he were to get his heart's desire..if he could hold her in his arms every day and every night...what dangers, what consequences would she endure. Could he risk her life just for his happiness? Did he have that right?!  
  
Parker snapped her fingers impatiently and held out her hand for the phone. Numbly, Jarod handed her the phone and walked out of the room, clicking the door firmly shut behind him.  
  
"Sydney?" Parker answered for once abandoning her frosty "what" greeting.  
  
This too caught Sydney off guard. "Miss Parker? Where have you been the past couple of days!?   
  
"On a Mafia Murder Mystery weekend getaway. What's new at the Centre? Have we rolled out any new clones or psychopathic assassins?" Parker icily returned.   
  
Sdyney laughed, "You know anything's possible Miss Parker. I guess I don't have to ask if you caught up with Jarod?"  
  
"Yeah, I caught up with him." Parker replied softly, her emotions tangled around the duty that bound her soul to the Centre.  
  
A silence fell over the lines and Parker knew Sydney was using his degree for good use. "Yes, Doctor, please tell me what's going through my mind."  
  
"I...I don't know, Miss Parker. But there's something in your voice that I can't interpret. It's a mass of emotions you seldom reveal."  
  
"Sorry to disappoint you, Syd, but it's plain old exhaustion," Parker denied.  
  
But Sydney knew Parker almost as well as Jarod did. "Yes I heard that clearly in your voice but that's not what's got me intrigued. You have a decision to make but you're uncertain what to decide."  
  
"All that from a two second conversation?" Parker snapped back.  
  
"Jarod's with you. That always means you have a decision to make," understanding crept into Sydney's voice. "Make the decision based on your happiness, Parker. In the end, that's the only thing that matters."  
  
A tear slipped from Parker's face. "It's not that simple Sydney!" her voice thick with emotions. "The Centre..."  
  
"To hell with the Centre, Parker! The Centre is not who you are, not what you are! This is what your mother died trying to prove to you! She wanted to free you from the Centre's grasp, regardless of the cost to herself. Are you going to throw her sacrifice away?! Why, because of loyalty, duty, family honor?! Parker you deserve a better life than this! Just as Jarod deserved a better life than the Centre!" Sydney insisted, mirroring Jarod's earlier words.  
  
Catherine Parker's voice sprang to Parker's mind. "It's time to walk away from the past. You're free if you choose to be." But the task still seemed too great for Parker to contemplate. But her mother's words came again to her heart. "Yes, you do know how to walk away. And you're strong enough to break free of the Centre, with Jarod's love."  
  
But doubted plagued Parker. Jarod loving her seemed too much like a fairy tale. Jarod was purity and compassion and she, she had dealt in the dark pits of vengeance and hatred since her mother had "died". And she had sought to steal Jarod's freedom without remorse. No, she did not deserve Jarod's love even if he was foolish enough to offer it to her merciless heart.  
  
With bitter acceptance, Parker replied to Sydney, "I know what I deserve, Sydney. I'm coming back tonight."  
  
A sigh of defeat escaped Sydney. "Alright. See you tomorrow."  
  
Parker clicked off the phone and dropped it to the bed. Closing her eyes, Parker fought back the urge to again sob until she could not draw in breath. But instead she clamped her jaw tightly shut and swallowed down the lumps that crawled up her throat. Her path was decided, had been decided a long time ago. Had probably been decided in that damn set of scrolls her father, Mr. Parker, had died destroying. Her fate was tied to the Centre forever. Just like her mother's had been. For a Parker, there was but one escape from the Centre's grasp. Death.  
When Jarod reentered the room, he wasn't surprised to find Parker dressed and zipping up her suitcase. "Anxious to go back to your masters, I see, " he chided but hating himself even as the words left his mouth. Why did it always come down to taunts between he and Parker?!  
  
Straightening, Parker's blue eyes met Jarod's brown eyes, "Yes, I miss the feel of the leash around my neck," she sallied back. She made to pick up her suitcase but suddenly Jarod crossed the room and his hand halted her hand. Parker looked up to Jarod with surprise.   
  
Jarod's heart pounded painfully in his chest. He had convinced himself that letting her go was for the best. If he, by some miracle, convinced her of his love, of the life they could live together, that the happiness that had always laid just beyond their reach could be grasped, he could very well be killing her. This weekend he had proved that he couldn't protect her! And the Centre did not play such pleasant games as the mafia did.  
  
But now, faced with the prospect of watching her again walk away, he found all his resolve was crushed under the pain that swelled in his heart. He remembered all too well how he had felt when he knew Antonio had taken her, when he saw her hanging in that cave, when he feared that she would be taken away from him forever. He could not willingly let her be taken away from him, not by his fear or by her sense of duty.  
  
The words came soft and fervently from his very soul, "I love you, Parker. Not just the little girl you were but the woman you are." Shock surged through Parker's eyes but Jarod's words didn't falter. "Everything has been thrown in our path to keep us apart but we have managed to find our way to each other time and again." Jarod hands held Parker's face, "We were meant to be together, Parker. Listen to your heart for a change. It's what your mother would do."  
  
A tear slipped silently down Parker's cheek unto Jarod's hand. His words broke through the barriers of her heart. She believed the truth of the words. Nothing had ever rivaled the light that entered her life when she was with Jarod. He was truly the best man she had ever met. "I don't deserve you, Jarod. I'm not my mother. I don't possess her goodness of soul."  
  
"It's your soul that I love, Parker," Jarod soothed. "And I know we deserve to be together. We can be happy together, Parker. Forever. I know that in my soul...just like you do.   
  
"The Centre.." Parker protested but Jarod's fingers rested on her bruised lips.  
  
"The Centre has never been able to control us," Jarod smiled, a twinkle in his eye. "They tried to control us when we were children and they've tried to control us now that we're adults but they have failed. We talked together, we unburied all their dirty secrets, we uncovered the scrolls. At every turn we defeated them. Our love is stronger than the Centre, stronger than the scrolls could ever be. We can make our own destiny, Parker."  
  
Parker's mother's voice echoed lovingly in Parker's ears, "It's time to let your heart lead you."   
  
A struggle fought within Parker. A struggle that had begun the first day she had met Jarod. Love versus duty. For so long she had let duty reign her life, and it had snatched away everyone she loved. Everyone but Jarod. Now it lay in her hands to either let Jarod slip through her fingers or clutch to him and never let him go.  
  
Parker watched Jarod's face, clearly seeing the apprehension crease his brow. He was resting both their fates in her frequently incompetent hands. How many people had she left slip out of her life without telling them what was in her heart? Her mother, Faith, Thomas, her father?! Could she live with that same decision now, with Jarod? Could she silence her heart once and for all or would she take her mother's advice and let her heart take the lead?  
  
"Changing our destiny isn't that simple, Jarod," Parker gently rebuked.  
  
But Jarod's face beamed with a smile at Parker's words. He knew what her heart was choosing, "Nothing is simple with us, Parker. Makes life exciting. So are we going to go the road ahead together like we were meant to?"  
  
A seriousness fell unto Parker's features and Jarod's heart clenched in fear. Suddenly his conviction of Parker's decision stated to waver.   
  
Parker raised her hand to caress Jarod's face and her eyes met his, "I don't deserve you, Jarod, but I love you. I have always loved you since that first kiss we shared as kids. You may have been the one trapped but I was the one deprived. The Centre couldn't tarnish your soul, Jarod. But I let the Centre tarnish mine, darker and darker every day. I don't know what you see in me worthy to love but I'm not going to throw away my chance for happiness with you. Not this time. Not ever again."  
  
Parker's mouth descended gently onto Jarod's lips. This kiss wasn't about possession or lust. No, this kiss was about Parker offering up her heart and soul to Jarod. The risk she took of making herself totally vulnerable was meaningless against the thought of losing him forever.   
  
Immediately Jarod wrapped Parker possessively in his embrace and freely gave his own soul over to Parker's safe keeping. Pulling back slightly, Parker's joyous eyes met Jarod's, "If I'm dreaming, don't wake me."  
  
Jarod laughed and placed a gentle kiss on her lips, "You're not dreaming, Parker. You better get use to my arms wrapped around you because they're going to be there every day and every night of your life."  
  
Parker smiled, "I can live with that." But suddenly a shadow of alarm passed over Parker.  
  
"What's wrong?" Jarod demanded urgently.  
  
"Sydney, Broots and his daughter...they won't be safe if I leave the Centre," Parker's voice was cold with anguish. "I..I can't.." and she made to escape Jarod's embrace but his arms tightened around her.  
  
With a finger under Parker's chin, Jarod gently forced Parker to meet his eyes. "I'll send some people to pack them up tonight. I have some places set up for them until they decide where they want to live." Jarod smiled at Parker's startled look. "I've been planning on rescuing you from the Centre since the first day I kissed you. I added Sydney, Broots and his daughter into that plan a few years ago when I realized what they meant to you. No one's getting left behind, Parker."  
  
A blinding smile beamed on Parker's face, "Jarod if I wasn't already madly in love with you, I'ld fall in love with you just now. You're stuck with me forever, you understand that, right?"   
  
Jarod's look was intensely honest, "Forever won't be long enough."  
  
Parker smiled back, "Yeah, but it's a start."  
  
Laughter erupted from Jarod as his lips captured Parker's and he molded her to his body. Their love had won its final battle and their destiny was set. For eternity.  
  
THE END  
Author Notes:  
I hope this ending did this story credit as well as the characters of Pretender.  
  
I want to give a huge THANK YOU to everyone who reviewed this story. Every kind word was such a gift to me. It was your reviews that kept me writing, kept the characters alive and gave me joy during a tough time of my life.   
  
Special thanks to   
LadyNiko - Thank you so much for your dedication in reviewing this story. And I was very touched that you added it to your favorite list even way before the last word was written.  
  
Marti Thatcher - Thanks for putting me on this story on your favorite list. I was so shocked and awed when I saw that come up on my stats. Your reviews helped to keep this story alive!   
  
Sabrina - You were kind enough to review this tale from Chapter 1 and encourage me to pen another chapter whereas I might have abandoned the whole idea. Thank you for continuing to read and review the story. This story is finished thanks to your kind and frequent words of encouragement.  
  
Nancy -Thanks for sticking with this story and for giving me such in-depth feedback! I appreciate the time you took out of your life! Every review helped strengthen my resolve to finish this story!!  
  
Pez7701 -Your every review meant a great deal to me. Thanks for your kind words!  
  
And for EVERYONE who gave a review, again, thank you! Every review brought a smile to my face and helped to get this story to it's conclusion.  
  
Please leave feedback and tell me how I did in ending this tale?!  
  
And have a WONDERFUL LIFE!! You deserve it!!!  
  
Cheryl 


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